


Too tough for your own good

by 15atay



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: F/F, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-27
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-12-18 14:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,298
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18251822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/15atay/pseuds/15atay
Summary: When Rosa finally catches a perp she's been chasing and has to deal with a female DA as tough as she is, will they butt heads or will sparks fly?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! So this is my first B99 story and the first fanfic I've written in over 4 years so I'm a bit rusty. Still trying to get Rosa's voice perfect. Please let me know what you think! Bi Rosa gives me life.

When Rosa finally catches a perp she's been chasing and has to deal with a female DA as tough as she is, will they butt heads or will sparks fly?

Rosa had run herself ragged working this case. The mastermind behind this new crime ring was elusive and worse he was operating in her childhood neighborhood. When they hit the hardware store owned by Mr. Martinez, an old family friend, it became personal. She and Santiago had caught and brought in several of his guys but they wouldn't rat him out. Rosa refused to be outwitted by this low-life and became obsessed with the case. She went home only to shower and change into each day's new leather jacket. Jake brought her black coffee each morning and Boyle brought her exotic lunches (which she promptly threw in the trash). Every lead she and Santiago followed ended with a dead-end or a minion who wouldn't talk. After a particularly heated integration in which Sergeant Jeffords had to physically pick Rosa up and carry her out of the room while she threatened to rip a perps vocal cords out since he didn't want to talk- she found herself in Captain Holts office.

"Captain," Rosa spoke in her most even-toned and dignified voice as Terry set her down in front of Holt's desk and tried to straighten her clothes

"Diaz" Holt replied with a raised eyebrow "Please-take a seat"

"I'd rather stand sir," she said through clenched teeth

"Diaz, I know you have been working tirelessly on this case. And I know it means a lot to you. You're a great detective and-"

"Sir I know where this is going please don't take me off this case"

"Diaz I-"

"Sir please I have another lead, I know he has a weapon's exchange planned sometimes this week. I know the place and I was trying to get the exact date and time from that -idiot- before he pissed me off. Let me try to catch this guy sir, I'll stake out the warehouse every night this week if I have to. I'm so close to catching him, sir. Please. "

Holt thought it over, he knew Diaz needed a win. They had a lot in common and as tough and stoic as she,they, acted-they had a lot of pride and something they felt they needed to prove. Being queer people of color in the police force wasn't easy, it had improved a lot in the last couple of years but their defensive walls had yet to fall. "Ok Diaz, you have a week. Rotate the rest of the squad on your stakeouts each night and catch this bastard" Holt replied in the most motivational voice he could muster.

Rosa left Holt's office pumped. She was less pumped when Boyle was the only one available to come on the stakeout that night. Boyle who had still not gotten the hint that Rosa did not like talking about her love life especially with him. After two hours of sitting in the car in silence (the way Rosa liked it ) Boyle jumped in-

"So Rosa…seeing any colts or mares lately?"

"What."

"Colt and Mares, male and female horses-"

"Boyle shut your face"

"Or are you just keeping quiet about your new lover because you don't want any questions- OR are you dating someone famous- OR are you dating two people at the same time again and can't choose- OR

"CHARLES" which each option Boyles tone and volume rose and Diaz's patience wore thin. I'm not seeing anyone ok?! I got dumped a while ago, love is stupid and this case is really important to me so can you just shut it and focus on this case PLEASE." Rosa exploded and then slumped in her seat, arms crossed.

"Jee Rosa I'm sorry I didn't know.." Charles lamented and picked up his binoculars determined to keep his mouth shut. A couple of minutes later he saw a figure scampering across the roof of the warehouse. "Diaz!"

"Boyle I told you I don't want to talk-"

'No Diaz someone's on that roof!"

"What!" Diaz sat up and snatched the binoculars from Boyles' hands and watched the shadowy figure disappear in a door on the roof. " Call in back-up and follow me, Rosa ordered while reaching for her vest in the back-seat and jumping out of the car. Charles was close behind. Rosa had already scoped out the warehouse out a couple of days before and knew exactly what she needed to do. She shimmied up a fire escape on the building next door and made a short jump to the correct roof. To his credit, Boyle kept up. Stacked against the roof door they both listened to what was happening inside. Rosa wanted to bust down the door but she heard at least 5 voices and knew she had to wait until back up arrived. Luckily uniformed officer got there quickly. Rosa radioed in their plan. Rosa knew from scoping out the place earlier that the only exits were at the ground floor and the roof. Jake and more officers made it to the roof (Jake would not shut up about how cool it was scaling the ladder and jumping to the roof) and the cops on the street turned on the sirens, trapping them so the only option was the room. Once all five perps emerged on the roof Rosa and the cops jumped out from behind air conditioning units and took them all in.

Rosa was ecstatic. She didn't know what the mastermind looked like but was sure he was somewhere within these 5.

3 hours later she was celebrating in one of her favorite ways- sitting alone at Shaw's with a beer. Steven Farrugia. She had been sure to rough him up in the takedown as well as getting himinto the interrogation room and he was just as much of a little bitch as Rosa thought he would be, these types always are, scared and blubbering as soon as shit hits the fan. She was holding him up by his collar about to pull key information when his goddamn defense attorney showed up. Rosa could not stand slimly defense attorneys. All lawyers gave her a bad vibe and this one was no different. But she let his shirt go, satisfied that she had finally cracked open her case. Smirking to herself she drained her beer and went home for a good night's sleep. She even showed up to work In her version of a good mood and brought donuts ( which skully and Hitchcock promptly demolished) She hadn't even made it to her desk when Terry blocked her path.

"Hey, Diaz …Holt needs to see you in his office " Terry looked uncomfortable. Diaz set down her coffee and peeked around to the window of Holts office where a woman in a pantsuit sat. Rosa walked in nervously and sized the women up. She looked pissed, one of her heels impatiently tapped against the floor and her arms were folded. She was black and her braids were pulled into a tight bun.

"Sir you needed me"

"Yes, Detective Diaz please sit" Holt motioned from his desk. "This is assistant district attorney Jordan Harris"

"Hello, detective" Jordan reached to shake Rosa's hand "I've been sent to fix the case you fucked up."


	2. Chapter 2

"Hello, detective" Jordan Harris reached to shake Rosa's hand "I've been sent to fix the case you fucked up."

\---------------------------------------

“What!?” Diaz stepped toward the attorney, eyes shooting daggers down at her

“Diaz sit down” Holt ordered, “and Ms. Harris I’d appreciate it if you’d show my detective some respect.”

An amused smirk appeared on Jordan’s face. “My apologies Captain, I thought we were speaking candidly, let me rephrase. I have been assigned to prosecute your detective's case but I was shocked to see we had little to no evidence.”

“What the hell are you talking about- we caught our guy in the middle of the weapons exchange, along with 4 other perps and had the warehouse surrounded” Rosa retorted- blood boiling

“ Yes detective, but where are the guns? Where is the money? Maybe if you and your cops were more concerned with gathering the evidence you claim to have and spent less time beating the hell out of those in your custody-“

“Ms. Harris, are you accusing my team of police brutality?” Holt interjected, sitting up straighter in his seat.

“ I saw the bruises on Steven Farrugia’s face, and I know what the NYPD is capable of”

“I’m no crooked cop. I’m making Brooklyn safer, on the ground” Rosa stood again “Instead of hiding behind-my-desk.”

“I’m here to pursue the justice detective. And that means everyone is innocent until proven guilty and that includes the man you beat the shit out of sitting in that cell” Harris rose in turn, getting directly in Rosa’s face. “I don’t know if there was a sixth man or the guns got thrown in the river but there is no evidence for this case. And no one you arrested is talking. I will not prosecute this case on a cops words alone. So.fix.it. Or I’m letting him go.”

Rosa stared at the woman and Jordan stared right back.

“Captain.” Jordan nodded at Holt, picked up her bag and walked out of the precinct her heels echoing in the silence as the argument had seeped through the office grabbing everyone’s attention.

Rosa was so pissed she was sure if she stayed in the office any longer she’d punch several holes in the wall. Before Holt could protest she strode to her desk, grabbed her helmet and motorcycle keys and raced out of the office.

Jake and Amy who had been listening since Rosa first went into Holt’s office, and rushed in as soon as she left. “Captain what the hell?” Jake began, planting himself in front of the Holt’s desk.

“ We don’t know what happened. After all the commotion of arresting Steven Farrugia and his four men, the uniformed officers swept the warehouse, they found no money or guns, we don’t know where they went. Jordan Harris is one of the newest Brooklyn assistant district attorneys under the DA’s election platform of progressive prosecution and an end to police brutality. She heard from Farrugia’s defense attorney that Rosa was holding his client by the collar up against a wall with a bruise on his face and her opinion of the 9-9 was set.

“Sir this case is so important to Rosa not to mention this guy is guilty as heck!” Amy chimed in.

“I know detective Santiago. And I know that Ms. Harris is trying to do the right thing. I support the new DA’s platform, we just made a bad first impression. So, I suggest you go find Diaz and work together to find these guns. For our case but more importantly, to get those guns off the street.

Santiago and Peralta nodded and set out to find Rosa. They couldn’t, of course, because Rosa is mysterious and elusive and New York city is huge. They had just recently found out where they thought Roda lived, so they settled to work the case in the office till Rosa returned. 

\-------------------------------

Rosa just needed time to clear her head. She sped down the highway letting the cool air calm her down. That attorney had really gotten under her skin. How dare she accuse her of being a “NYPD cop” she knew how some cops treated people in her community. That was part of the reason she had gone to the academy, to be a good cop. She also knew that crime made her old neighborhood too dangerous to go outside after dark. She was tough, she had to be but she never truly let her temper or bias get in the way of her work. This was the roughest she had ever been and Farrugia had only got that knot on his head because he was resisting when she tried to get him into the cop car. But more than Jordan’s comments she was mad her plans had been so sloppily executed that all the evidence has slipped through her fingers. Months of work wasted. But Rosa wasn’t one to give up when she got knocked down. She had grit, she was a fighter. Harris wanted the guns and the money? She’d find it. Resolve reformed, she hit a U-turn and raced back to the precinct ready to work.

Jordan tried to calm herself as she walked back to the subway. She had not planned on getting so upset and making such a bad first impression on her partner precinct. She had read the file, she knew Steven Farrugia was as guilty as anyone. She planned on using her visit to introduce herself and mention that she was working on this case and would need more evidence. But when she ran into Farrugia’s defense attorney on the way in and heard how his client had been treated and saw the pictures on his phone of his bruises she was pissed. 

Jordan Harris went to law school to fix the criminal justice system. Her whole childhood she’d watched how the police and the courts had treated the black community. Police stopping her male friends on the street for no reason and humiliating them. People getting thrown in jail for the same drugs, white kids at the private school her parents got her into across town, did every weekend. Police officers murdering teens at police stops on the evening news. But she also saw how gangs, drugs and violence were tearing her community apart. After several of her law school professors encouraged her to become a prosecutor giving the mercy instead of the public defender begging for it. She had reluctantly agreed. And felt like she had already been making far to many compromises in her work. Prosecuting open and shut cases for turnstile jumpers or open alcohol containers on the street. This, for her own sanity, was where she had to draw the line.

She was going to pursue justice and truth the right way and she wasn’t going to let any hot-headed cops get in her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Can't wait to finish the exposition so the fun part of the story can begin. Also, I'm terrible at titles so if anyone has a better idea for this story please let me know!


	3. Chapter 3

Jake, Amy, Boyle, and Rosa spent most of the next day trying to crack the case. They started in the briefing room, talking shit.   
“ And who the hell does she think she is” Boyle attempted to join the trash talk “strutting in here in her perfectly tailored suit telling us how to do our job- she has no idea what it’s like to wear this uniform.”   
“Well actually she kind of does” Amy chimed in, looking up from her laptop and turning it toward the group “ Check out it out- Jordan Harris joined the Army to pay for school, went to airborne and air assault school-”   
“How do you assault the air??” Boyle asked   
“ Airborne is jumping out of a plane, Air assault is repelling from hovering helicopters with ropes” Rosa’s gruffly chimed in, trying her best to sound unimpressed.   
“Anyway, she did both of those, deployed to Afghanistan twice, then went to Columbia Law school and spend 3 years doing prosecution in military courts before getting out and joining the Brooklyn DA’s office a few months ago. I also see several news articles about winning several Taekwondo tournaments.  
“ A total badass, kinda sounds like you Rosa” Boyle added

Rosa rolled her eyes and stood up, whatever she isn’t our focus right now, the evidence is. Rosa banged her fist on the board. We interviewed all the perps again and they all independently claim there were only 5 men total in the warehouse” The squad nodded. “ We scoured the evidence room and nothing was mislabeled” The squad nodded again. “ Welp, I guess we need to head back to the warehouse.”  
“Shot gun!” Boyle hollered, which everyone ignored as he was forced to sit in the middle backseat, between Hitchcock and Scully. It was a big warehouse and the whole squad was needed to search the entire thing closely. Rosa ended up back on the roof, checking the air vent and reliving what at the time had been, the proudest moment of her policing career. Looking out across the industrial park she felt her heart begin to race. She spotted a security camera on the warehouse behind this one, if the guns and money had left this warehouse, which was the only explanation, it would be on that video.   
\----------------------------------  
There was nothing in the video.   
Rosa and Jake watch the video from an hour before the arrests and 24 hours after and no one other than the police and the 5 men in handcuffs came in or out. Rosa hid her devastation with anger, lashing out at Hitchcock for leaving his disgusting shoes near her helmet and beating the fax machine to a pulp when it wouldn’t work fast enough. After that out-burst Holt told her to take the night off.   
\------------------------------------  
When the squad went to get a drink they went to Shaw’s and Rosa would often humor them and tag along. But when she wanted to drink alone she went to JR’s. It was chill, darkly lit, had her favorite type of beer on tap and most importantly of all, there was at least one bar in every direction in-between this bar and the precinct so there was little chance she’d run into anyone she knew. What Rosa hadn’t known that its seclusion was the exact same reason Jordan Harris had begun to frequent it once she moved to the city. And the only open seat at the bar that night was next to Jordan Harris.   
Rosa almost turned around and left for Shaw’s the moment she spotted Harris but she paused. This was her bar and she wasn’t gonna let this woman take it from her. Defiantly she grabbed the stool, sat and ordered her usual. At the sound of Rosa’s voice, Jordan turned her head, gave a quick nod and raised her beer and returned to face the bar. The silence shocked Rosa and pleased her. They sat silently next to each other as they drank 3 beers each. Jordan then rose from her seat, put on her sunglasses and said “Goodnight Detective Diaz” and without a second look head out the door. “Night” Rosa replied and drained her drink, it was one of the most relaxing night she’d had in a while.   
\----------------------------------  
The next morning Jordan received a report from Holt over the phone about how the 99 had come up empty the day before. “ And they watched the security video before AND after?” Jordan pressed   
“ Yes they did, only the five men and police officers were in and out” Holt replied   
Jordan sighed “ Ok Captain I’ll level with you, I know your team has been working really hard but I can only give you a couple more days or I’ll have to drop these charges “  
“Understood.”  
After hanging up with Holt, Jordan made her way to the break room for her daily afternoon coffee. Two of her co-workers stood by the microwave chatting. “ Oh hey Jordan” one ADA greeted   
“Hey what’s up”  
“ Oh, we were just talking about this crazy coincidence, about two of our cases.”  
Jordan listened with increasing interest as the two described similar problems to hers, with tales of missing evidence. The wheels in her head spun and as soon as it clicked she raced out of the office and over to the 99.   
“Detective Diaz may I speak with you in private”  
Rosa’s head shot up from her paperwork, surprised to see Jordan again. She looked extremely excited and tapped her heel on the floor.   
“Sure” and led Jordan out to the balcony. “I’m listening” Rosa began, crossing her arms

“It’s the fucking cops!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and Kudos are always welcome :)


End file.
